Wall outlets, who makes the best?

Myles B. Astor said:
Maybe time to retire the Mogami? I did two decades ago. :)
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+ 1. Professional gear is built for accuracy, neutrality and resolution, and mechanically to be robust and fit for purpose, not for those qualities we audiophiles prize such as tone/timbre, harmonic richness, naturalness, sound staging etc.
 
Bodhi said:
+ 1. Professional gear is built for accuracy, neutrality and resolution, and mechanically to be robust and fit for purpose, not for those qualities we audiophiles prize such as tone/timbre, harmonic richness, naturalness, sound staging etc.
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I don't disagree, but I don't find it easy. For example, here's what I have in my arsenal:

Source interconnects (all XLR): MIT Oracle MA-X (rev 1), Transparent Reference XL, Burley, Mogami AES (digital cables used for analog on a suggestion from Gary of Genesis)
Preferred is the MIT (deep clear bass, clean treble). The Transparent is rolled off in the extremes and is grainy to my ears.

Preamp->amps (30 feet): Transparent Reference XL (RCA), Burley XLR, Mogami XLR
Preferred for musicality is the Transparent but there are issues with this cable: grainy artifacts in the upper mids, rolled off highs

Speaker cables: MIT Oracle Matrix SHD 90
Bought these to clean up the muddiness that I had with Transparent Ref XL (when I had Wilsons) and sold them.


Nobody is going to lend me a pair of 30 feet XLR cables to try, mostly because nobody has a pair. I can purchase a pair of MIT, but that scares me because you have to specify low/high impedance (no switch for that distance) and if I change amps I'm screwed.

I'm experiencing nasty highs that I feel like I've narrowed down to either the amps, speaker cables or the speakers, so an amp change in my future is possible. I bought the Mogami as just something to try (and tide me over) because I could hear the Transparent single ended cables picking up grunge whereas any XLR seems to have a lot less noise. The Mogami are much better than the Burley (Pass Labs' own brand of cables).
 
Madfloyd, 30 feet of most cable will roll off highs. Lower capacitance cable, such as Nordost won't but I don't know how you'd like them with Pass/Magico. (I'm a big fan)

Do you deal with Goodwin's? I would think that they or any good dealer would provide a serious audioguy like yourself with 30 ft of anything you wanted to try. Even if they have to borrow it from the manufacturer.

Good luck!
 
madfloyd said:
I don't disagree, but I don't find it easy. For example, here's what I have in my arsenal:

Source interconnects (all XLR): MIT Oracle MA-X (rev 1), Transparent Reference XL, Burley, Mogami AES (digital cables used for analog on a suggestion from Gary of Genesis)
Preferred is the MIT (deep clear bass, clean treble). The Transparent is rolled off in the extremes and is grainy to my ears.

Preamp->amps (30 feet): Transparent Reference XL (RCA), Burley XLR, Mogami XLR
Preferred for musicality is the Transparent but there are issues with this cable: grainy artifacts in the upper mids, rolled off highs

Speaker cables: MIT Oracle Matrix SHD 90
Bought these to clean up the muddiness that I had with Transparent Ref XL (when I had Wilsons) and sold them.


Nobody is going to lend me a pair of 30 feet XLR cables to try, mostly because nobody has a pair. I can purchase a pair of MIT, but that scares me because you have to specify low/high impedance (no switch for that distance) and if I change amps I'm screwed.

I'm experiencing nasty highs that I feel like I've narrowed down to either the amps, speaker cables or the speakers, so an amp change in my future is possible. I bought the Mogami as just something to try (and tide me over) because I could hear the Transparent single ended cables picking up grunge whereas any XLR seems to have a lot less noise. The Mogami are much better than the Burley (Pass Labs' own brand of cables).
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Is that TA MM2 level or the earlier version? Something is amiss if you're hearing grain in the TA????? I might complain more about it being somewhat dynamically compressed, something they have supposedly addressed in the Gen V model.
 
madfloyd said:
Nobody is going to lend me a pair of 30 feet XLR cables to try, mostly because nobody has a pair. I can purchase a pair of MIT, but that scares me because you have to specify low/high impedance (no switch for that distance) and if I change amps I'm screwed
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I don't think MIT will build you a 30' pair of interconnects with anything other than the impedance locked on low. I had a 27' pair of Oracle MA-X SHD built a couple of years ago and they said low impedance for that length was all they could build.
 
Frank750 said:
I don't think MIT will build you a 30' pair of interconnects with anything other than the impedance locked on low. I had a 27' pair of Oracle MA-X SHD built a couple of years ago and they said low impedance for that length was all they could build.
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Crap, I didn't know that and I need high impedance going into the Pass .8. Thanks for the heads up, Frank. I did have an 8m pair of RCA at one point and they were indeed low impedance.

Hmm, trying to follow best practices by having my rack on the side wall instead of between my speakers, but it's pretty hard to do that without at least 25 feet.
 
Highstream, I know it has been a while since this post but by any chance do you still have that Maestro outlet for sale?
Thanks
Dave
 
Gene, thanks for the quick response. And thanks for looking into it. I will wait for your reply. Sorry but I don't have enough post to go direct.
Dave
 
It is interesting that this thread came up as I have just purchased two Furutech GTX-D receptacles, a gold one and a rhodium one. I had replaced a cheap power strip with a Cullen Power Distribution box with upgraded cord and noticed an improvement in clarity and dynamics so I thought I would try upgrading my receptacles as well. People tell me I'm nuts, how can there be an audible improvement from something that just carries electricity. But I can't deny what I hear so I am now a believer that these things really do make a difference.

I use both tube mono blocks and a solid state amp that I switch between so I didn't know which version to get. So I decided to get both, one for the sources and preamp and the other for the power amps. I think I will use the rhodium one with the sources and the gold for the amps as the rhodium outlet is said to be the more revealing one and I would like to get the most from my sources. The gold version should work with the amps to flesh out the midrange more.

But all this is mere speculation, I won't really know until I try them out. They arrived at the post office today but I was unable to get them as I had to work late. I'll install them tomorrow. They are replacing the cheap Leviton ones so even without break-in it should be an upgrade. I had the option to have them burned in for free when I ordered them, I wish I had gone for that after reading how long they can take to burn in. Oh well, live and learn. I didn't go for the base plate or receptacle plate as they are kind of expensive and I am still sceptical about their effect on audio. Perhaps if the receptacles make a difference I will give them a try next.
 
Albert ... I did same thing. Bought 3 outlets, 2 gold and 1 Rho ---- digital gets Rho and amps get gold.

These outlets replaced FIM outlets. I'm very pleased with the sound. Well worth the investment IMO.


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j3brow said:
Albert ... I did same thing. Bought 3 outlets, 2 gold and 1 Rho ---- digital gets Rho and amps get gold.

These outlets replaced FIM outlets. I'm very pleased with the sound. Well worth the investment IMO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Have you done a head-to-head comparison on the same components between the rhodium and gold outlets? Which one do you prefer? I will only be getting one outlet, so I need to choose between rhodium or gold.

Thanks,
Ken
 
I installed the GTX-D gold receptacle today for the amps. I have an old house and the receptacle box is small but I was able to squeeze the new receptacle in, though it doesn't fit as flush as I would like. I guess I'll just have to buy the base plate and receptacle cover to make a cleaner job. ;)

Initial impressions are of a lower noise floor, a touch more dynamics and micro details and a little tighter bass. I used to think my Jeff Rowland model 5 amp was light on the bass but it sounds more balanced now. Pretty amazing improvement from a wall receptacle in going from a generic $2 dollar one. There was no evidence of corrosion and the receptacle did what it was intended to do but I think the improvement in sound makes the upgrade well worth it.

I couldn't install the second GTX-D Rhodium one as the stereo rack was just too close and I didn't feel like separating all the components to move the rack. I tried just removing the Laser Disc player from the bottom shelf but there still wasn't enough room. The ground wire was also very short, not allowing me to pull the receptacle from the box. There is maybe 1/3 inch of play. I guess I'll wait until I am more motivated, perhaps during the summer holidays. In the mean time I am going to put the new receptacle in the kitchen to run the fridge to burn it in. I should have the best sounding fridge in town! :D
 
I've also got GTX-D's, Rhodium ones and they are awesome. Prior to that I used PS Audio receptacles.
 
I don't mean to wet blanket this direction; but in the last few months Furutech has released their 'NCP' versions of the GTX-D (R) duplex outlet. to my ears it is clearly a level above the GTX-D (R) outlets that I had.

http://www.furutech.com/2015/11/18/12066/

a thread where I describe my experience.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...7-Furutech-GTX-D-NFC-(R)-outlets-this-morning

if you are wanting the best. these are that.

and further; Furutech also applied the NCP tech to their top-of-line male and IEC plugs for power cords. which I had installed to at least as significant performance upgrade.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...s-this-morning&p=377221&viewfull=1#post377221

it's too bad this stuff matters so much; but no doubt it surely does.
 
Mike Lavigne said:
I don't mean to wet blanket this direction; but in the last few months Furutech has released their 'NCP' versions of the GTX-D (R) duplex outlet. to my ears it is clearly a level above the GTX-D (R) outlets that I had.

http://www.furutech.com/2015/11/18/12066/

a thread where I describe my experience.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...7-Furutech-GTX-D-NFC-(R)-outlets-this-morning

if you are wanting the best. these are that.

and further; Furutech also applied the NCP tech to their top-of-line male and IEC plugs for power cords. which I had installed to at least as significant performance upgrade.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...s-this-morning&p=377221&viewfull=1#post377221

it's too bad this stuff matters so much; but no doubt it surely does.
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Mike L.,

This past week I sent my unopened GTX outlets back and exchanged then for the new NCF version. I also sent back my PC's to have all of my original GTX connectors replaced with the new NCF stuff. (Pretty much cuz of your findings.)

Sometimes being ridiculously slow in setting up a new room has its advantages. Thanks for your insights.
 
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